Pineapple-Coconut Upside-Down Mini Cupcakes

Pineapple-Coconut Upside-Down Mini Cupcakes

These two-bite cakes place finely diced pineapple and toasted coconut beneath a vanilla-lime batter, then turn out with the fruit on top. The mini size and coconut-citrus topping distinguish them from the site’s standard muffin-pan pineapple-ring cakes. Draining and blotting the pineapple prevents the small cakes from becoming gummy.

Equipment, yield, and timing

• Equipment: 24-cup mini-muffin pan, two bowls, whisk, flexible spatula, teaspoon measure, small offset spatula, and cooling rack
• Yield: 24 mini cupcakes
• Preparation: 20 minutes
• Bake: 14 to 18 minutes at 350°F

Ingredients

Topping:

• 1 cup finely diced pineapple packed in juice, thoroughly drained
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted

Batter:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 150 grams
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and grease every mini-muffin well. Blot the drained pineapple with paper towels.
2. Stir melted butter and brown sugar. Divide among the wells, about 1 teaspoon each. Add pineapple and toasted coconut evenly without packing them tightly.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. In another, whisk sugar, egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and lime zest until smooth. Fold wet ingredients into dry just until no flour pockets remain.
4. Spoon batter over the topping, filling each well about three-quarters full. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, until the centers spring back and a tester shows moist crumbs without wet batter.
5. Rest exactly 5 minutes. Loosen the edges, place a rack over the pan, and invert in one confident motion. Lift the pan and replace any fruit left behind while it is still warm.

Success cues and troubleshooting

Turn the cakes out while warm: cooling completely in the pan lets the sugar harden and stick. If the topping runs down the sides, the pineapple retained too much juice or the wells were overfilled. A tough crumb comes from prolonged mixing. Toast coconut only until pale gold because it continues browning in the oven. If one cake resists, loosen only its rim with the offset spatula instead of shaking the entire rack.

Substitutions and storage

Finely diced fresh pineapple works after blotting. Lemon zest can replace lime zest. Omit coconut for an ordinary pineapple version, but that variation will be closer to the site’s other upside-down cakes. Cool completely and store covered at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freeze in a single layer for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator and warm briefly at 300°F; microwave reheating can make the sticky topping rubbery.